A South African school located in Soweto has implemented a rotational learning system to address a shortage of classrooms, the Sowetan reported on Monday.
Hundreds of learners attend lessons on a rotational basis at the Noordgesig Secondary School, accumulating a total of only 10 days of attendance in a month.
According to 14-year-old grade 9 pupil Aaliyah Woodworth, “after 13 asbestos structures were shut down in October 2023 for health and safety reasons”, learners have been attending school on a rotational basis since schools reopened in January 2024.
The learner detailed her struggles with the new practice, which has significantly slowed effective learning.
“Sometimes we attend three times a week … on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The next week we attend on Tuesday and Thursday.
“The rotational learning is bad for continuity. We sometimes do not understand the work that is given and can only wait until we go to school [to ask teachers]. That is nearly three days lost.
“To catch up, we sometimes borrow books from our friends who may have attended a class that we have not attended. What this means is that if my friend has something wrong in the book, I am likely to follow,” she detailed.
Aaliyah’s mother Lesley-Ann Mesier noted a significant decline in her daughter’s academic performance since the introduction of the rotational setup.
“Her marks were usually high but since the start of this, they have declined. Their books are quite empty compared to their counterparts in other schools and that is great cause for concern,” she said.
“I make sure that I am with her and that we try to do some work but sometimes, we as parents do not understand the work ourselves,” she said.
SGB member Isaac Ramrok also weighed in on the incident.
“Our children are roaming the streets on days when they should be in school. We have challenges with those who are doing consumer studies because they have no equipped classroom to do the practicals. They need stoves and other apparatuses that we had in the asbestos classes. Even if we could move the stove, where would we move them to because there is just no space.
The Sowetan further reported that Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona, and education MEC Matome Chiloane did not respond to questions on the classroom schedules and growing concerns.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of schools in South Africa followed a rotational timetable instead of remote learning.
